Moeen Ali retires from international cricket: Decoding his prominent records
Veteran England all-rounder Moeen Ali has announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket at the age of 37. The decision comes after he was not selected for the upcoming Australia series. Moeen made a significant mark across all three formats in his decade-long international career. Here we look at his prominent feats and records in England colors.
250 runs and 20 wickets in a series
As per ESPNcricinfo, Moeen is among the five England all-rounders to score at least 250 runs and take 20 or more wickets in a bilateral Test series. He scored 252 runs and picked up 25 wickets in the four-match series against South Africa (2017). Tony Greig, Andrew Flintoff, Ian Botham (thrice), and Len Braund are the other Englishmen with this feat.
Historic hat-trick in 2017
In 2017, Moeen became England's first spinner in 79 years to take a hat-trick in Test cricket. He accomplished the milestone during England's third Test against South Africa at The Oval. The English all-rounder dismissed Dean Elgar, Kagiso Rabada, and Morne Morkel to complete his hat-trick. Moeen became the first English spinner since Tom Goddard in 1938 to have done this.
Moeen owns this elite double (Tests)
Moeen amassed 3,094 runs at an average of 28.12 across 68 Tests. The tally also includes five hundreds and 15 fifties. Moeen also took 204 wickets at 37.31. He has 5 five-wicket hauls and one 10-for. Ian Botham, Andrew Flintoff, Stuart Broad, and Ben Stokes are the only other England players with the double of 3,000 runs and 200 wickets in Tests.
Fastest fifty for England (T20Is)
Moeen holds the record of scoring the fastest T20I fifty by an England batter. He touched the 50-run mark in just 16 deliveries against South Africa in Bristol in 2022. The southpaw cracked an 18-ball 52 in that game. He had bettered the previously held record of Liam Livingstone, who attained the feat in 17 deliveries against Pakistan in 2021.
Elite double in ODI cricket
Moeen was a part of England's ODI World Cup-winning squad in 2019. The all-rounder represented the Brits in 138 ODIs, scoring 2,355 runs at 24.27 and picking up 111 wickets at 47.84. Paul Collingwood, Botham, and Flintoff are the only other England all-rounders with the double of 100 wickets and 2,000 runs in ODIs.
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Moeen also played 92 T20I matches and scored 1,229 runs at a strike rate of 142.41. The veteran also scalped a total of 51 wickets as well. No other England all-rounder has even a double of 500 runs and 50 wickets in this format.
